A Lincoln Service Amtrak train passes Joliet, Illinois. Photo by Eric Pancer.
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn joined United States Department of Transportation secretary Ray LaHood (who’s from Peoria) and Senator Dick Durbin on a special Amtrak train in Joliet on their way to Normal. They met to ride on a rebuilt stretch of track which [...]
Accessing Union Station is done by many modes, but each has its own challenges and annoyances.
Over 50 people attended the 4:30 PM presentation of the Union Station master plan in the Union Gallery on Thursday. The Chicago Department of Transportation is the lead agency on this project [...]
Photo of Amtrak and Metra trains at Union Station by Eric Pancer.
Read the event review for this meeting.
Come to the Great Hall at Union Station on Thursday, December 15, 2011, from 4 to 7 PM, for a presentation and open house on the Union Station Master Plan. [...]
Roadside Halloween display in Colchester, IL
On Halloween weekend I took a train-bike-train excursion to western Illinois and northeast Missouri and, fittingly, death was a recurring theme on this fun little trip. My childhood pal Greg recently took a gig teaching political science at Western Illinois University in Macomb, IL. Judy, another old friend from [...]
A Metra train passes over a congested highway in Chicago.
Congress is “debating” (it doesn’t always seem like a debate but a shouting match full of poorly chosen words) President Obama’s American Jobs Act right now; the latest news is that the Senate has rewritten the bill to add a new 5% tax [...]
Grid Bits is a new series I’m experimenting with – it comes in the same vein as Grid Shots. While Shots features photos our Flickr group contributors take, Bits is a collection of abstracts on diverse topics around Chicagoland. Each paragraph is a new story.
Photo of project advertisement in front of the future Oakton [...]
Grid Chicago is a blog about sustainable transportation matters, projects and culture in Chicago and Illinois, by John Greenfield and Steven Vance since June 2011.
Recent Posts
- Grid Chicago is parked. Come join us at Streetsblog Chicago!
- Over a Barrel: Why is City Hall barring Pedal Pub from operating?
- Redesigning North Avenue to better serve its purpose: shopping
- Today’s Headlines
- More from Marge: Alderman Laurino talks trails, bike sharing
- Next South Shore alderman must expand and protect existing transit
- Today’s Headlines
- Transition Plan: We’re making the move to Streetsblog Chicago!
- Construction update: Jackson buffered bike lane installed after 1.5 year delay
- Today’s Headlines
Side Projects
Western & Ashland BRT: Pros and Cons - This webpage summarizes the project details and describes the pros and cons for each of the 4 bus rapid transit scenarios
Get Lit: Use Lights At Night - A campaign to get bike lights onto cyclists' handlebars. Donate today
Crash Portal - Exploring bike crashes in the City of Chicago and elsewhere
Bike 2015 Plan Tracker - Monitoring the status of implementing the 153 strategies in the Bike 2015 Plan
Chicago Bike Map app - Carry a beautiful Chicago bike map on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, along with numerous, helpful points of interest and resources


















